Microsoft has changed the look of its Internet search engine Live Search, adding a background photograph that  contains several clickable areas, the Redmond, Washington-based software giant announced Wednesday in an effort aimed at attracting more people to the third most used search engine in the United States. Microsoft rolled out the changes to Live Search users in the U.S. on Wednesday, and is expected to bring them to other online markets in the future, according to a statement issued Wednesday by the world's largest software maker. Hotspots On New Live Search Homepage Microsoft has foregone the clean longstanding Google-inspired plain white background design in favor of an image that now occupies nearly the entire screen, onto which its previous search entry box -- with options to search the Web, images, videos, news and maps -- resides. Several clickable areas Microsoft called "hotspots" appear when moving the mouse pointer over certain portions of the new image, popping up short snippets of information about some of the subjects shown. When clicked these hotspots bring up related information from Microsoft Live Search including maps, Web links and additional photos. "Our goal for the home page is to find the best way to enhance users' sense of discovery, surprise, and delight while balancing engineering realities for a great user experience," Microsoft Live Search senior product manager Chris Rayner and senior program manager Zach Gutt wrote in a message announcing the changes posted on the company's official blog for its search engine. In an era of search engine sites heavily focused on producing ever-more-relevant search results, terms such as those used by Rayner and Gutt are rarely used when describing search engine upgrades, and it appeared that Microsoft was aiming to try a new approach by focusing on the look of its Live Search site, which it said would "intrigue and inform" its users. An Aesthetic Change To Traditional White Background In June the background image and hotspots underwent limited customer testing and received enough positive feedback to implement them for U.S. Live Search users, the company said in the Wednesday statement. "Today we're releasing an update to the Live Search home page that received positive feedback from  customers in trials last month," wrote Rayner and Gutt, who added that testers found the changes "both engaging and a great place to start a search." The initial background image chosen for Wednesday's debut was a photograph of a man using a long pole to push a narrow wooden long boat through tall grass on a lake in Botswana, with hotspots bringing up information about the region. "These interactive areas highlight parts of the image and help you explore search results related to the highlighted area," Gutt and Rayner noted. Microsoft said that the Live Search background image would change frequently, however it did not give details as to whether users could expect to see new images daily. In an effort to maintain an uncluttered look, the new Live Search background image begins to appear after a brief pause, which Microsoft said would help give searchers who know what they are looking for time to bypass the graphic-intensive new look. In practice, especially for those with broadband Internet connections, the effort is largely a failure as the pause can appear as nothing more than a brief flash, although those with slower connections may find the delay useful. With the changes Microsoft appeared to be walking a fine line between driving away those interested only in conducting serious research online and attracting those who may enjoy learning about the subjects shown in regularly-changing background images. "We think hotspots will help users discover parts of Live Search they might not know while not distracting from the core purpose of the page - searching," Gutt and Rayner noted. Microsoft Uses New Interactive Photos To Attract Live Search Users The optional advanced search page did not get the same makeover as the primary Live Search page, and it may be the best option for those who prefer a more traditional look, as the changes Microsoft made Wednesday did not include an option to turn off the new background images. Last month Microsoft struck an exclusive deal with the world's biggest PC manufacturer Hewlett-Packard to make Live Search the default search engine on every Web browser shipped with its new PCs beginning in January 2009. While some industry analysts saw the changes announced Wednesday as little more than window dressing along the same lines as Microsoft's May introduction of its Live Search Cashback program, others, such as one member of the popular online discussion forums operated by WebmasterWorld, a community of webmasters and search engine marketing (SEM) professionals founded by chief executive Brett Tabke, liked the Live Search changes. A WebmasterWorld member using the handle "arizonadude" wrote: "I like the new background image in the live search home page. After looking at nothing but white for all these years, it's a nice change." Others found the background image to be distracting. Related Links:
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